Africa well represented in WMU Class of 2023
WMU delivers another class of maritime graduates
SWEDEN: The World Maritime University’s graduating class of 2023 included 283 graduates from 71 countries and set a record with 35 percent of the class comprising of women. The graduation ceremony was held over the weekend in Malmö, Sweden.
Of the 283 graduates, 123 are from the Malmö MSc programme, and 81 graduates from the China programme, making a total number of 204 MSc graduates in 2023. The Class also includes a record number of ten PhD graduates that also represent a record in terms of gender with seven women, one MPhil graduate and 68 graduates from the distance learning programmes including seven LLM graduates. The 2023 graduation ceremony brings the total number of WMU graduates to 6,090 from 170 countries and territories.
Awards
A number of awards were presented during the ceremony and featured recipients from across the African continent.
- Outstanding Alumni Award: Judith Enaw of Cameroon who served as the Secretary General of the International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin (CICOS) from 2016 to 2023. Enaw was the first female President of the WMU Student Council. Always proud to be a WMU alumna, she has demonstrated great professional distinction in the maritime field throughout her career since graduating in 2000.
- The Lloyd’s Maritime Academy Dissertation Prize: Mr Eslam Ramadan Badry Gad (Egypt)
For 2023, the Specialisation Prizes for the MSc in Maritime Affairs were endowed by the Asia House of Copenhagen and included
- Ahmed Mohamed Ismail Mohamed Ismail (Egypt) for Maritime Energy Management
- Eslam Ramadan Badry Gad (Egypt) for Maritime Safety & Environmental Administration
- Aishath Sarah Hashim (Maldives) for Ocean Sustainability
ABOVE: The Kalmar Prizes are awarded by Kalmar Global to students who are recognised as leaders among their peers. The winners are pictured here with WMU President, Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr. and Conny Eliasson from Kalmar Global. The awardees included (from the back row, L to R): Takanori Uzumaki (Japan), Shinabhat Maneerin (Thailand), Tebogo Alfred Moloko Ramatjie (South Africa), Artemisa Cristina Gomes Neves Mota (Cabo Verde), Gift William Kamwendo (Malawi), Ms. Sulafa Mahmod (Syria), Louisa Pokua Sarkodie (Ghana), Jethro Padama (Philippines), Teona Khabeishvili (Georgia), and Daniela Jimena Andrade Tamayo (Ecuador).
Recipients of the Kalmar Prizes, awarded by Kalmar Global to students who are recognized as leaders among their peers, included:
- Artemisa Cristina Gomes Neves Mota (Cabo Verde)
- Gift William Kamwendo (Malawi)
- Tebogo Alfred Moloko Ramatjie (South Africa)
- Louisa Pokua Sarkodie (Ghana)
706